LiveWire

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Working woman!

The first day of work. It was 7:30 in the morning.

"Hey, Joe? Um... I'm lost."

My boss picked me up and drove me to the office. What a start! It so happened that I was lost on a stretch of road thinking there was nothing beyond the barricade, when in fact the office was a 10 minute walk further down.

The usual orientation: cafeteria, mailroom, restroom (which literally was for resting: it had a couch!) and my very own cubicle. Right next to the boss'. And of course, plenty of brochures and other material to read. 4 hours I sat inside a box. Rather, I couldn't. Kept pacing around like a dog chasing its tail.

Lunch time, at last. Followed boss. Ran back, brought ID to be able to swipe back in. Then realized I didn't bring my wallet. Ran back, brought cardholder. Then realized cash only. Ran back, brought cash. Did not want to make eye contact with anyone after that, but still had half a day to go!!!

Spices, apparently, are unheard of in vegetarian cooking here. I was served pasta with no sauce and salted corn when I asked for veggie helpings. Thank god they at least had onion rings :) General discussions about work ensued.

Another 4 hours, walking in circles. At least I got some thinking work done when at it. But by the time it was 4.50, i was counting the seconds...

Met a whole lot of people, didn't remember anyone's names at the end of the day. It was like the first day at a new school, only this time, I'll have the embarassing details for life.

Highlight of the day, though:After I clarify the project details (which turns out to be a major cross-functional problem that has to be modelled and analysed)"So, are there any more interns to come?""No, you're the only intern in the project.""Who is the team, the four of us?""No, just you.""Err...""And me of course, I'm your manager."Seriously, Joe, we gotta talk about my compensation.